Governor to appoint new commissioner

After Nathan Katschke resigned from the Board of County Commissioners in May 2019, Chairman Varlin Higbee said it will now become Governor Steve Sisolak’s responsibility to appoint a new member to the board from District E [Panaca] that Katschke represented, but just when that will take place he did not know.

Lincoln County Republican Central Committee Chair James Shane of Pioche said in a telephone interview with the Record that a list of six candidates, both men and women, had been sent to the governor for his consideration.

Shane also said he learned recently that any person living within District E can submit an application for the position simply by visiting http://gov.nv.gov/Board/Boards/.

Now that the state legislative session is over, Sisolak may be able to spend more time looking into the qualifications of each person up for consideration.

At present, the board is operating with four people: Higbee, Kevin Philips, Bevin Lister and Jared Brackenbury.

Until 1996, when an ordinance was passed, Lincoln County operated with just a three-person board. “We can work with four and even with three, because we still have a quorum and are not breaking the open meeting law,” Higbee said, “but admittedly it is more difficult.”

However, District Attorney Dylan Frehner explained that if one of the three members present ever has to recuse themselves from voting, for any reason, it would be like an abstention and the issue could still proceed. A quorum would still be present, but that one person simply would not vote. Higbee said if that resulted in a tie vote, then the item could be tabled and put on the agenda at a later time.

He said it is “much easier to function when you have the full board present.”